72 teachers, staff face charges under POCSO Act in Kerala; How safe are our children in school?

Thiruvananthapuram: Even as it remains a fact that the number of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) cases being reported in Kerala keep on increasing, what is more distressing is that in many cases teachers and non-teaching staff of schools are also getting involved in POCSO cases.

State general education minister V Sivankutty said on Thursday that at least 72 teachers and non-teaching staff of government and aided schools in the state are involved in POCSO cases and the government is initiating action against them. "Such persons can't expect any leniency from the government," he had said.

Sources in the state education department told DH that as per the latest data, 72 teachers and non-teaching staff are facing POCSO cases since 2019. Actions were already taken against 27 of them. Four were even removed from the service. Last year, eight cases were reported. Apart from teachers, librarians, lab staff, and attenders are among those facing POCSO charges. The victims include even primary school students.

The state has seen an increase in the number of POCSO cases over the period. While the total cases were 1,719 in 2023, it increased to 2,161 in 2024. In this January alone, 229 cases were reported in the state.

In view of instances of teaching and non-teaching staff of schools being involved in POCSO cases, the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights is also conducting awareness classes on POCSO to teachers. "We are trying to make the teachers aware of the dos and don'ts as per the POCSO," said the commission chairperson Manoj Kumar.

Even as the government have prescribed mechanisms like counselling services at schools and e-drop boxes, those working in the field are skeptical about the effectiveness of such system, especially in dealing with sexual assault complaints against teachers.

"There used to be a general tendency of pursuing the complainant not to proceed further instead of taking action against the accused in case of complaints," says Lenitha Annamma Joseph, director of Kochi-based NGO Maithri that provides psychological support.

Meanwhile, there are concerns among teachers regarding fabricated cases. "All teachers' unions are backing the government's action against those teachers found guilty. However, many complaints were found to be fabricated and we had also urged the government to carry out detailed inquiry before taking action. The government is also convinced about it," said Kerala State Teachers Union state president K M Abdullah.